This comes a week after Germany tightened block down measures in a bid to contain the spread of the virus during the holiday period.

As in other countries hard hit by the second wave of infections, it's not just hospitals that is struggling to cope.

They've been working around the clock at Mason Crematorium.

The coronavirus means have had to deal with many more bodies this year.

Yeah, a sealed coffins have co overnight and victims inside.

With these safety precautions in place, it's nearly impossible to have direct contact with the dead come crematoriums.

Here in the state of sex, any are at maximum capacity.

About half the coffins have a coronavirus sticker.

Highly infectious.

The state premier is warning residents.

The next 10 weeks will be the most difficult defense pizza.

There will be a third wave.

The question is how high it will be.

And everyone who is dealing with this is worried about how much higher than the current pick.

It will climb the number of new infections might last be leveling out.

But people in Mason want answers from their leaders.

They just can't agree.

There were no clear rules.

No one is going outside anymore.

People are infecting their own families.

Some people are following all the rules and others air coming up with their own theories.

They say there is no coronavirus, but every day there are more coffins in the crematorium containing the bodies of covert 19 victims.

Let's bring in our political correspondent and Manuela Shah's, uh, Emma.

The coronavirus fatalities in Germany are continuing to rise despite strict locked down measures.

Do we know why?

Well, Terry doesn't increasingly diffuse transmission, which means more and more clusters.

And more and more of those happen in nursing and care homes, where you will find the most vulnerable people the elderly, sick people on.

Also, there's more infections happening in community facilities, in religious events in any place, places where there's contact between people.

And added to that one key point is really trying to curb infections in trying to cut those infections is really to trace at the infection chain, and in most cases this is no longer possible.

There's nearly 25,000 new infections today, 962 deaths.

If you look at the seven days incidents, rates has been skyrocketing.

Nearly 200 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

That's four times higher, then what is already a critical treasure?

So that's fair to say that the situation is not under control at the moment.

Now the head of Germany's Infectious Diseases Institute says that if case numbers keep rising, even stricter locked down measures may become necessary.

What sort of measures are we talking about?

Well, the goal is and has always been to prevent the spread of the virus by reducing contacts.

Hence social interactions would be hit load.

Avila, the head of institute, issued a stark warning.

He said, to not travel.

And many scientists fear the effects that Christmas will have on the pan that make US people travel to meet with their families.

And some states have already introduced new rules.

In the very for example, all travelers returning from high risk areas will have to undergo a coronavirus tested in Baden Wuerttemberg.

That will be a quarantine requirement for people coming from neighboring France and Switzerland is also there's also a huge debate here in Germany on whether or not churches well, they should cancel.

Christmas service is something that has been met with opposition from some state premiers, for example, in North Rhine Westphalia.

Now Germany, like much of Europe, is expected to start rolling out its vaccination program on December 20th 27th.

That's just four days from now.

Is everything in place to assure a smooth start?

Well, first, there will be around 150,000 doses off the biotech fights, a vaccine that are due to be delivered on December 26.

And the first vaccinations should take place in elderly care homes the following day, and then further doses will be due later in the week, and the Health Ministry saved.

That is around 3 to 4 million doses that could be given out in January only, and 13 million up to 30 million by the end of March.

There will be administered in care and nursing homes first.

Then there will be a special vaccination centers that have been set up already all over the country, and vaccines will first go to the most vulnerable, and that includes the elderly and medical personnel and then the general population.

And Germany has ordered the biotech Pfizer a vaccine but also the modern A vaccine, which which is still awaiting approval from EU regulators.

Emma.

Thanks for bringing US update their D W, some political correspondent and medical shots.

While the coronavirus has spread throughout Germany, it's affected some parts of the country, of course, worse than others.

The first hotspot emerged back in March in the town of Heinz, back in the far west of the country.

That outbreak was attributed to regional carnival celebrations.

As 2020 draws to a close, we look at the impact the pandemic has had on the small community there.

As a priest, Marco Spoons has guided many people from Hinds back through this difficult year, and they're just like a very exhausting year.

It took a lot of strength.

You can already see how it is weighing on people.

Um, e think we've really been burdened by all the economic consequences and repercussions by the whole situation, and people have fallen ill and died, which is the worst kind of burden in the situation is not easy for him, either.

Hinds back a small Almost everyone knows everyone bones had to bury people he knew who had died of Corona.

Three experience When Corona hit us back in February and the numbers began to rise in the Hinds back district, all the numbers very quickly became names and faces.

So you know the families.

You know, the people who are affected.

That was very challenging.

In February, Heinz Beck was confronted with one of the first major outbreaks of the coronavirus in Germany.

An infected couple had attended a carnival party soon after Heinz Bag became the epicenter of the pandemic.

For many residents, this was a very difficult time.

One was really very affected, especially since the first infected people, where my own acquaintances and we experienced that firsthand, that the virus can have drastic effects among our relatives and acquaintances.

Some people have fallen ill and one lady has even died.

That was an eye opener for US social cohesion, and Heinz Berg has become much better.

But in the beginning, the whole situation was really bad because everyone pointed their fingers at us from mayor all of any time.

In the funeral of a protector that time priest Marco Spoons also witnessed how people from Hinds back were ostracized.

People were insulted.

Cars were vandalized.

I can't die, Hines back bashing violent Heinz back bashing became an expression.

And that really hurts because nobody is responsible for it in the first place, even the one who was identified as the first one who was infected, nobody can be blamed for that.

Identify.

Uh, Kanye Neiman.

It was the field.

In the meantime, Hinds back, like all of Germany, isn't locked down again.

It has not yet re emerged as a hotspot, but Marco Spoons knows that Corona is far from over.